68 



covered with rough scales of bark, and where branches have been cut 

 away the stubs remain, with irregular cut ends, the branches hav- 

 ing been hacked off with an ax. These stubs have in man}^ places 

 cracked and begun to decay, thus making excellent places in which the 

 larv{\i of the codling moth could spin their cocoons and hibernate. 

 The writer once secured 20 larvEe from the holes and cracks in one of 

 these stubs. The cut ends were not given proper dressing and decay 

 has taken place, often leaving large holes in the trunks and branches. 

 Man}' cocoons can be found in this rotten wood, and on all the trunks 

 and branches one can find numerous empt}^ pupal skins from which 

 moths have emerged. The soil of the orchard has received no cultiva- 

 tion and is covered partly with weeds, principally prickly lettuce. 

 The orchard is very productive and always bears a good quantity of 

 fruit, but, being undersized and from 90 to 98 per cent infested by the 

 codling moth, practically no revenue has been derived from it for the 

 past five or six years. In 1900, 1901, and 1902 the writer searched 

 carefully for uninfested fruit, and each time found on the tree near the 

 trunk only a dozen or so small stunted apples which had escaped the 

 codling moth. Other insect pests are present in this orchard, each 

 requiring special treatment. 



The eastern orchard is situated in a good horticultural region. The 

 trees number about 300, and are probably about twenty-five years old. 

 They are placed 10 feet apart, and have made a good growth. The 

 trees have received some pruning, but as in the western orchard there 

 are many stubs left, and there are numerous decaj^ed holes in the 

 trunks and branches. In many trees the branches are matted together 

 and shade the fruit. The soil is in fairly good condition and lightly 

 sodded. Until the past two or three years the orchard has been 

 remarkable for its productiveness, but a large percentage of the fruit 

 was small and much the larger jDart of it was infested with the larva? 

 of the codling moth. 



The treatment that these orchards should receive to bring the cod- 

 ling moth under control is about the same. It may be stated that if 

 the preventive measures advised for a young orchard had been faith- 

 fully and intelligently carried out man}^ of the existing conditions 

 would not have been present. 



TREATMENT OF OLD ORCHARDS. 



The first thing to be done to old orchards is to prune the trees in 

 such a manner that the sunlight and spraj^ing solutions will have easy 

 access to the foliage and fruit. Every other tree in the western 

 orchard should be cut down. The stubs of branches should be sawed 

 ofi' close to the trunks and burned in order to destro}^ the hibernating 

 larva3 contained in them, and the cut ends remaining on the tree cov- 

 ered with shellac varnish or grafting wax. The holes in the trunks 



